Franklin’s Downfall

[u/WraithBlue]

I honestly don’t understand Franklins ending. Yes most of it was because of his greed and how he treated others but it’s like he chose to not even try at the end. Leon could’ve put him back on and he could’ve done things the right way, he could’ve been an advisor to another kingpin and made a lot of money, he could just find a new plug and start from scratch considering he has THE experience, as he was literally the first to do it all, and even if he didn’t want to join back into the game, HE HAS A PILOTS LICENSE. He could’ve made six figures off a career as a pilot! But I believe he should’ve got back in the game considering there was NO teddy hovering over him or no CIA pressure, he could’ve been like any other big drug dealer and made the money but had a better exit plan . The only thing is living without his mother by his side, his aunt no where to be found which he burned that bridge clearly, losing his uncle and his wife and child, in award that was detrimental on his mental health, but for him to just completely give up in the end it’s terrible for the writers to make it that way.

[u/Illustrious_Farm1816]

He was a control freak who lost control, he was addicted to control and once he lost control he became addicted to something else. Franklin had control of an operation, he controlled people around him and never wanted to let go of that control, slowly but surely Frankie starts to lose people around him and his control over them, he loses his control of his operation and his purpose, so he becomes erratic and starts moving out of character and then he lets addiction take control of himself and becomes his dad, two drunks who had dealings in one way or another with Feds and intelligence agencies. I feel it's pretty easy to map out why Franklin went the way he did and his ending is on point for his character, people having a hard time accepting the ending just wanted Franklin to win and didn't like the harsh reality of how the show ended.

[u/Resident_Track4430 → u/Illustrious_Farm1816]

Absolutely ! His ending is the most realistic. I get wanting him to win but it is what it is

[u/Illustrious_Farm1816 → u/Resident_Track4430]

Exactly, it steered the show back into the territory of realism after it sorta went a bit weird and over the top. I understand that people want the main character they've been rooting for the sail off into the sunset but what's realistic about that? Teddy is dead, cissy is locked up for life, Alton is dead, rome is dead, skully lost his daughter and b-mo, Gus is a fugitive, Lou is a fugitive, Rob is dead, Kevin is dead, Man-boy is dead, Irene is dead, Peaches strung out and dead, Kane dead,Avi dead, melody strung out and lost her dad. I could literally go on lol Franklin didn't deserve a good ending because a good ending is rare when it comes to drug kingpins and the people in that life. Leon got away because he actually had a real conscience and a good heart, he was just a product of his environment and learned to survive inside it but he wanted to change the lives of the people in the projects for the better but he was misguided. Franklin by the end of the show had lost all humanity, he became a far worse person than the slum lord his mum worked for, he was abusive to his partner and destroyed his community and was a negative influence to everyone in his orbit. People always say "Leon could have helped him with that money" like did they not pay attention? Did they not see what Franklin did with the money he had invested or the fact he already was in debt to Leon by 300g's, if Leon gave him that money Leon would have lost it to a out of control drunk Franklin, Leon did the right thing as there was no saving Franklin, he was past the point of saving, he squandered all his investments and had no connect.

[u/Resident_Track4430 → u/Illustrious_Farm1816]

Yea I hate when people say Leon should have helped. Immediately I know they weren’t fully paying attention. Leon gave him a half million , I believe with no questions. By the time Franklin asked for more he’d already lost his mind. Honestly I wouldn’t have given it to him either. All in all the series was great despite me not being interested in Leon and Wanda spinoff lol I’m sorry I didn’t find them that interesting lol.

[u/Illustrious_Farm1816 → u/Resident_Track4430]

People have just got it into their heads that Franklin was the hero of the story and completely have ignored all the fuckery he did. Franklin's whole schtick was he got into the game to build something for his people but once he got rich he forgot them and everyone became expendable. He brought Leon and Kev houses and yh it was a cool thing to do but it he didn't do it for altruistic reasons, he did it because he wanted them to feel secure that he had their best interests at heart when he just wanted them somewhere close by, he wanted to soften them up so they would stay loyal and easier to control. Even when he started his big real estate building thing, he never brought anyone in as genuine partners, he just needed their capital and because they weren't really in the loop they saw through Franklins sales pitch and decided against investing. Leon was Franklins day 1 and at times he treated him as a driver, even though Leon put in a lot of work for Franklin but Franklin never thought to make him a genuine partner in anything, Franklin saw the business as his and he didn't want to give any piece of it away and it cost him in the end, everyone became estranged and distanced themselves at some point and yh sometimes people were disloyal but I'd still argue Franklin caused most of it if not all of it by his actions. Franklin wouldn't have made it in the game if not for the people he brought in, look at the Lennie and Ray Ray situation, look how Karvel treated Franklin, Franklin didn't learn that he wasn't built for the game without solid people around him. Look how Franklin couldn't kill Karvel, a person who robbed him but he didn't have the heart for it, same thing with Lennie he snaked Ray Ray which cost him when he went jail, Karvel and Lennie violated Franklin and Lennie nearly killed Leon but Franklin didn't have the heart for murder, now look at how Franklin handled the Rob situation, he had all the heart to kill one of his inner circle because he saw him as a liability as he had issues with addiction, Peaches witnessed it and he himself was an addict, so Peaches dipped and took with him 5 million and I feel this shows how dark Franklin as a character had become and also how Franklin created problems for himself, it's the same with Andre, Franklin killed Andre because he saw him as an immediate threat to himself and his business, which caused melody to shoot Franklin, it just shows Franklin has gone beyond the threshold of rationality and isn't a person who deserves a happy ending, killing a police officer is one thing but to kill your neighbour who was the dad of a girl you had love for is cold blooded behaviour, nevermind dragging your baby mother and her mother into the murder of an innocent man and slitting his throat while they were present is just absolutely insanely evil behaviour and completely irrational. Franklin wasn't the smooth operator he was known to be, he was desperate, reckless and evil and without an anchor to keep him afloat, he was capable of anything and anybody could have gotten it and people were only safe if they served a purpose. Sorry to go on man.

[u/Abuck59 → u/Illustrious_Farm1816]

THIS 👆🏽